Happy New Year

It's a new year: 2006. Last night we watched the fireworks exploding from the Sky Tower, only a block from our hotel, and thought about what the new year would bring for us here in New Zealand. This New Year's Eve celebration seemed more significant to us than most New Years in the past, since we're beginning a new life in a new country. Therefore, we've decided to make a few lists. Although they're not really resolutions, they do help us clarify our objective in moving here.
Next January (2007) we'll compare our actual life to these hopes and dreams that we listed here on January 1st, 2006.

WHY DID WE CHOOSE NEW ZEALAND?
• It's far away from everywhere.
• They're a small nation, not a terrorist target, and not aggressive. They don't invade other countries.
• It's an opportunity for us to explore a whole new quadrant of the world. Besides traveling all over New Zealand, during the next few years we can visit Australia and islands in the South Pacific like Tahiti or Fiji.
• There's new wildlife and flora for us to learn about (even penguins!)
• It's warm! It's subtropical. And it's Celsius.
• There's wide open spaces with lots of sheep. Sheep are cute and fuzzy.
• There's beautiful, plentiful, empty beaches.
• It's full of friendly people, and they're very welcoming.
• They speak English but they have a cool accent.
• It's anti-nuclear and anti "Coalition of the Willing"
• They honor their native culture.
• There's great public facilities at parks, beaches, community centres, etc.
• They have a female Prime Minister ... and it's no big deal to them.
• There's less consumerism, less materialism. Hardly anyone drives an SUV just as a status symbol.
• Guys don't sag their pants. :)

WE HOPE THAT IN OUR NEW LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND, WE WILL ...
... explore nature more
... paint more (Curt)
... acquire an accent (Megan)
... learn a little Maori language and some Maori culture
... make friends and invite people over more
... give more back to our community, through voluntering maybe